Luke Meydenbauer is a Grade 12 student from the United States of America. Luke’s journey feels like a story of movement, discovery, and bold ambition.
Growing up between France, Senegal, and Morocco, Luke learned early on how to adapt to new cultures and perspectives. Yet arriving at a new IB school system still brought its own hurdles.
"The biggest two things were adjusting from Advanced Placement (AP) to the International Baccalaureate (IB) and integrating into the culture," he recalls.
What made the difference was a community that lived out its mission daily. Teachers were "open to any questions," and classmates offered support that helped him adapt academically while continuing to thrive. Beyond the classroom, joining the MIS varsity football and track & field teams were turning points. When MIS physics teacher & coach Jonathan Briffa called him up to the varsity level, it was his first step to integrating with the school community.
"Playing football and running track helped me with getting to know people, finding that common interest and working as a team together". Through sport, he found confidence and connection.
Challenges extended beyond academics. Navigating a new country, commuting long distances from Garmisch to MIS, and mastering regional transportation systems required independence and resilience.
Yet even this became empowering: "The rewards are very big. I can travel wherever I want, it gives me great freedom".
Each obstacle strengthened his adaptability - a skill MIS environment continued to cultivate by exposing him to diverse perspectives and encouraging open dialogue. In contrast to echo chambers he had observed elsewhere, he found a place where "you get to experience a lot of different perspectives and cultures around you," broadening not only his worldview but his sense of possibility.
His inspiration crystallized during a visit to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Seeing wave pools for ship design and specific engines to build cars for capstone project, transformed Luke's curiosity into ambition. "It really fascinated me," he explains. Combined with his love for IB higher-level physics, a new dream emerged: to study engineering while continuing his athletic and leadership pursuits. MIS University Guidance Counsellor, Emily Foster and his teachers helped refine that dream, offering guidance, essay feedback, and unwavering encouragement.
Luke is planning to attend Duke University to pursue a Civil Engineering degree. "It started off when I came to MIS. We connected on a lot of things, " Luke says about Nate, a senior he met while he was in Garmisch. "We are both Eagle Scouts, both of our parents were in the Navy and we had both moved around a lot." In a school community built on shared experiences and global perspectives, that connection quickly turned into friendship and into possibility. Through Nate, he first heard about Duke University. "I didn’t really know much about it," Luke admits, until he visited during fall break of 11th grade and saw it for himself. Walking the campus and reconnecting with Nate there transformed curiosity into clarity. Duke University "rose above the rest," he explains, because of “the high-level academics that it gives to students” and its powerful athletic culture - from standout basketball to a strong football program. But what truly captured his imagination were the students he met in the NROTC unit. "A lot of them seemed like really awesome people," Luke says, especially when they described participating in "American Grand Strategy," a program centred on political simulations and guest speakers discussing foreign policy. In that moment, he saw a future where intellectual challenge and personal passion could exist side by side. Through friendships that sparked discovery and a school environment that nurtured students through challenge, he found the courage to dream boldly - envisioning a path that combines sport, leadership and global impact. After I graduate from college, I'll commission as an officer in the United States Navy - highlight Luke.
Through organization, discipline, and summer initiatives like an internship at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, working for a scout camp in Croatia, and MIS student council, Luke learned that success is less about pressure and more about purpose.
"If you stay organized and stay ahead of the game it’s just a matter of completing a checklist," he advises.
In a community designed to challenge and champion its students, Luke discovered not only how to overcome change, but how to transform it into direction. His story is one of a MIS fulfilling its mission: turning transitions into growth, interests into passions, and possibilities into bold dreams.
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